Bird Takes Down KSAZ Helicopter

By Andrew Gauthier 

Veteran helicopter pilot Rick Crabbs and photojournalist Tom Fergus were up in KSAZ‘s news chopper on Wednesday when a bird slammed into the aircraft, leaving a gaping hole and forcing Crabbs to land the helicopter (video above).

Crabbs and Fergus were on their way to cover a fire in Scottsdale when the helicopter was struck by a dove.  Neither of them were injured and Crabbs was able to safely land the aircraft.

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“We were probably doing about 120 knots about 140 miles when we heard a big bang,” Crabbs recalled, and “all the sudden feathers were flying all over inside the aircraft.” [h/t NewsBlues]

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